This invention involves a device to aid persons to stand from a sitting position and to begin walking.
Most older infirm persons wish to continue to be on their own and not depend on another person's continuing physical aid as much as possible. However, the difficulty in rising up from a sitting position and beginning to walk to another location in the home defeats the desire for independence for many older persons. In many cases, the older infirm person is of limited strength and does not have the leg and back strength necessary to rise from a sitting position. The difficulty is particularly apparent when the person is attempting to rise up from the lower height of the seat of a water closet or from a soft comfortable chair, which allows the person to sink into it. Thus, while the older infirm person would enjoy the comfortable chair, it is the very nature of that chair that makes getting out of it more difficult and thus unsatisfactory for use, unless there is another person to aid the infirm person in rising from the chair.
There are a number of mechanical devices which, if made part of the chair, tilt and aid the person in rising. These devices are not practical for the water closet seat and are expensive mechanical devices that require maintenance and upkeep. Further, tilting the chair can cause the person to lose balance as he or she is raised up to a near standing position. Attaching rails to the wall in the bathroom are permanent and unattractive. None of the other devices in the prior art satisfy the needs described above, nor attain the objects provided hereinbelow.